Green Bay Packers vs Arizona Cardinals Match Player Stats On Dec 27, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Dec 27, 2015

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Because he lost the weekly quarterback "bucket challenge," Carson Palmer had to dress up in a makeshift grass skirt and coconut bra ensemble during an early pregame jaunt around the field Sunday.

The embarrassment was nothing compared the one he the rest of his streaking Arizona Cardinals teammates put on the Green Bay Packers hours later.

Palmer passed for two touchdowns, rookie running back David Johnson accounted for 127 yards from scrimmage and a score, and the Cardinals registered nine sacks en route to a 38-8 victory at University of Phoenix Stadium for their ninth consecutive win.

Two of the sacks on quarterback Aaron Rodgers resulted in fumbles and touchdown returns by the Cardinals' defense.

With the victory, a franchise-record 13th of the season, the Cardinals secured no less than the No. 2 seed in the NFC and with it, a first-round bye in the playoffs -- another franchise first.

If Carolina loses next week at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Cardinals beat the visiting Seattle Seahawks, Arizona (13-2) would claim the No. 1 seed over the Panthers by virtue of a better conference record than Carolina.

The Packers (10-5) never got going against the league's seventh-ranked defense, which harassed Rodgers all afternoon. Not only did Green Bay, which had won three straight, squander a chance to capture the NFC North title -- the Packers needed to win Sunday and hope the Vikings lost Sunday night to the Giants -- but they lost two more starters during the game.

Already playing without left tackle David Bakhtiari and cornerback Sam Shields, Green Bay had nose tackle B.J. Raji leave the game in the first half with a concussion and right tackle Bryan Bulaga exit in the third quarter with an ankle injury.

By the time the Packers scored their first touchdown on a 28-yard pass from Rodgers to running back Eddie Lacy with 6:31 left in the third quarter, the Cardinals already held a commanding 31-0 lead.

Sandwiched around Rodgers' only touchdown of the game were strip sacks and fumble returns by the Cardinals for touchdowns.

Linebacker Kareem Martin's sack knocked the ball loose, and defensive tackle Cory Redding scooped it up and rumbled 36 yards for one score. Then, with 3:05 left in the third, veteran linebacker Dwight Freeney dislodged the football during his second of three sacks in the game, and cornerback Jerraud Powers returned it seven yards for another score.

Things got so out of hand, Packers coach Mike McCarthy decided to remove Rodgers with 9:56 left to play and insert Scott Tolzien. Rodgers was 15 of 28 for 151 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Palmer finished 18 of 27 for 265 yards to go along with his two touchdowns and one interception. Wide receiver Michael Floyd led the Cardinals with six catches for 111 yards. Johnson had three receptions for 88 yards, ran for another 39 yards and took most of the second half off.

The Cardinals led 17-0 at the half following a 3-yard touchdown pass from Palmer to wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, a 7-yarder to wide receiver John Brown and a 19-yard field goal by kicker Chandler Catanzaro. David Johnson made it 24-0 with a 14-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter.

On the third play of the game with his 11-yard catch, Fitzgerald became just the ninth receiver in NFL history to have at least three different seasons with 100 or more receptions. With 103 catches on the year, he tied his own 2005 single-season club record.

The Cardinals were playing without both of their starting safeties. Tyrann Mathieu was lost for the remainder of the season after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament last week in a win at Philadelphia, and Rashad Johnson missed his second consecutive game because of an ankle injury.

NOTES: Arizona RB David Johnson entered Week 16 with more rushing yards in December (378) than 24 other teams. ... Packers QB Aaron Rodgers reached the 30-touchdown-pass plateau for the fifth season of his career. Brett Favre holds the franchise record with eight seasons of 30 or more TD passes. ... With a victory next Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, the Cardinals would tie the 1948 franchise record by winning 10 consecutive games.